3 perlguts - Perl's Internal Functions
7 This document attempts to describe some of the internal functions of the
8 Perl executable. It is far from complete and probably contains many errors.
9 Please refer any questions or comments to the author below.
15 Perl has three typedefs that handle Perl's three main data types:
21 Each typedef has specific routines that manipulate the various data types.
23 =head2 What is an "IV"?
25 Perl uses a special typedef IV which is a simple integer type that is
26 guaranteed to be large enough to hold a pointer (as well as an integer).
28 Perl also uses two special typedefs, I32 and I16, which will always be at
29 least 32-bits and 16-bits long, respectively.
31 =head2 Working with SVs
33 An SV can be created and loaded with one command. There are four types of
34 values that can be loaded: an integer value (IV), a double (NV), a string,
35 (PV), and another scalar (SV).
41 SV* newSVpv(char*, int);
42 SV* newSVpvn(char*, int);
43 SV* newSVpvf(const char*, ...);
46 To change the value of an *already-existing* SV, there are seven routines:
48 void sv_setiv(SV*, IV);
49 void sv_setuv(SV*, UV);
50 void sv_setnv(SV*, double);
51 void sv_setpv(SV*, char*);
52 void sv_setpvn(SV*, char*, int)
53 void sv_setpvf(SV*, const char*, ...);
54 void sv_setsv(SV*, SV*);
56 Notice that you can choose to specify the length of the string to be
57 assigned by using C<sv_setpvn>, C<newSVpvn>, or C<newSVpv>, or you may
58 allow Perl to calculate the length by using C<sv_setpv> or by specifying
59 0 as the second argument to C<newSVpv>. Be warned, though, that Perl will
60 determine the string's length by using C<strlen>, which depends on the
61 string terminating with a NUL character. The arguments of C<sv_setpvf>
62 are processed like C<sprintf>, and the formatted output becomes the value.
63 The C<sv_set*()> functions are not generic enough to operate on values
64 that have "magic". See L<Magic Virtual Tables> later in this document.
66 All SVs that will contain strings should, but need not, be terminated
67 with a NUL character. If it is not NUL-terminated there is a risk of
68 core dumps and corruptions from code which passes the string to C
69 functions or system calls which expect a NUL-terminated string.
70 Perl's own functions typically add a trailing NUL for this reason.
71 Nevertheless, you should be very careful when you pass a string stored
72 in an SV to a C function or system call.
74 To access the actual value that an SV points to, you can use the macros:
80 which will automatically coerce the actual scalar type into an IV, double,
83 In the C<SvPV> macro, the length of the string returned is placed into the
84 variable C<len> (this is a macro, so you do I<not> use C<&len>). If you do not
85 care what the length of the data is, use the global variable C<na>. Remember,
86 however, that Perl allows arbitrary strings of data that may both contain
87 NULs and might not be terminated by a NUL.
89 If you want to know if the scalar value is TRUE, you can use:
93 Although Perl will automatically grow strings for you, if you need to force
94 Perl to allocate more memory for your SV, you can use the macro
96 SvGROW(SV*, STRLEN newlen)
98 which will determine if more memory needs to be allocated. If so, it will
99 call the function C<sv_grow>. Note that C<SvGROW> can only increase, not
100 decrease, the allocated memory of an SV and that it does not automatically
101 add a byte for the a trailing NUL (perl's own string functions typically do
102 C<SvGROW(sv, len + 1)>).
104 If you have an SV and want to know what kind of data Perl thinks is stored
105 in it, you can use the following macros to check the type of SV you have.
111 You can get and set the current length of the string stored in an SV with
112 the following macros:
115 SvCUR_set(SV*, I32 val)
117 You can also get a pointer to the end of the string stored in the SV
122 But note that these last three macros are valid only if C<SvPOK()> is true.
124 If you want to append something to the end of string stored in an C<SV*>,
125 you can use the following functions:
127 void sv_catpv(SV*, char*);
128 void sv_catpvn(SV*, char*, int);
129 void sv_catpvf(SV*, const char*, ...);
130 void sv_catsv(SV*, SV*);
132 The first function calculates the length of the string to be appended by
133 using C<strlen>. In the second, you specify the length of the string
134 yourself. The third function processes its arguments like C<sprintf> and
135 appends the formatted output. The fourth function extends the string
136 stored in the first SV with the string stored in the second SV. It also
137 forces the second SV to be interpreted as a string. The C<sv_cat*()>
138 functions are not generic enough to operate on values that have "magic".
139 See L<Magic Virtual Tables> later in this document.
141 If you know the name of a scalar variable, you can get a pointer to its SV
142 by using the following:
144 SV* perl_get_sv("package::varname", FALSE);
146 This returns NULL if the variable does not exist.
148 If you want to know if this variable (or any other SV) is actually C<defined>,
153 The scalar C<undef> value is stored in an SV instance called C<sv_undef>. Its
154 address can be used whenever an C<SV*> is needed.
156 There are also the two values C<sv_yes> and C<sv_no>, which contain Boolean
157 TRUE and FALSE values, respectively. Like C<sv_undef>, their addresses can
158 be used whenever an C<SV*> is needed.
160 Do not be fooled into thinking that C<(SV *) 0> is the same as C<&sv_undef>.
164 if (I-am-to-return-a-real-value) {
165 sv = sv_2mortal(newSViv(42));
169 This code tries to return a new SV (which contains the value 42) if it should
170 return a real value, or undef otherwise. Instead it has returned a NULL
171 pointer which, somewhere down the line, will cause a segmentation violation,
172 bus error, or just weird results. Change the zero to C<&sv_undef> in the first
173 line and all will be well.
175 To free an SV that you've created, call C<SvREFCNT_dec(SV*)>. Normally this
176 call is not necessary (see L<Reference Counts and Mortality>).
178 =head2 What's Really Stored in an SV?
180 Recall that the usual method of determining the type of scalar you have is
181 to use C<Sv*OK> macros. Because a scalar can be both a number and a string,
182 usually these macros will always return TRUE and calling the C<Sv*V>
183 macros will do the appropriate conversion of string to integer/double or
184 integer/double to string.
186 If you I<really> need to know if you have an integer, double, or string
187 pointer in an SV, you can use the following three macros instead:
193 These will tell you if you truly have an integer, double, or string pointer
194 stored in your SV. The "p" stands for private.
196 In general, though, it's best to use the C<Sv*V> macros.
198 =head2 Working with AVs
200 There are two ways to create and load an AV. The first method creates an
205 The second method both creates the AV and initially populates it with SVs:
207 AV* av_make(I32 num, SV **ptr);
209 The second argument points to an array containing C<num> C<SV*>'s. Once the
210 AV has been created, the SVs can be destroyed, if so desired.
212 Once the AV has been created, the following operations are possible on AVs:
214 void av_push(AV*, SV*);
217 void av_unshift(AV*, I32 num);
219 These should be familiar operations, with the exception of C<av_unshift>.
220 This routine adds C<num> elements at the front of the array with the C<undef>
221 value. You must then use C<av_store> (described below) to assign values
222 to these new elements.
224 Here are some other functions:
227 SV** av_fetch(AV*, I32 key, I32 lval);
228 SV** av_store(AV*, I32 key, SV* val);
230 The C<av_len> function returns the highest index value in array (just
231 like $#array in Perl). If the array is empty, -1 is returned. The
232 C<av_fetch> function returns the value at index C<key>, but if C<lval>
233 is non-zero, then C<av_fetch> will store an undef value at that index.
234 The C<av_store> function stores the value C<val> at index C<key>, and does
235 not increment the reference count of C<val>. Thus the caller is responsible
236 for taking care of that, and if C<av_store> returns NULL, the caller will
237 have to decrement the reference count to avoid a memory leak. Note that
238 C<av_fetch> and C<av_store> both return C<SV**>'s, not C<SV*>'s as their
243 void av_extend(AV*, I32 key);
245 The C<av_clear> function deletes all the elements in the AV* array, but
246 does not actually delete the array itself. The C<av_undef> function will
247 delete all the elements in the array plus the array itself. The
248 C<av_extend> function extends the array so that it contains C<key>
249 elements. If C<key> is less than the current length of the array, then
252 If you know the name of an array variable, you can get a pointer to its AV
253 by using the following:
255 AV* perl_get_av("package::varname", FALSE);
257 This returns NULL if the variable does not exist.
259 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
260 information on how to use the array access functions on tied arrays.
262 =head2 Working with HVs
264 To create an HV, you use the following routine:
268 Once the HV has been created, the following operations are possible on HVs:
270 SV** hv_store(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, SV* val, U32 hash);
271 SV** hv_fetch(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, I32 lval);
273 The C<klen> parameter is the length of the key being passed in (Note that
274 you cannot pass 0 in as a value of C<klen> to tell Perl to measure the
275 length of the key). The C<val> argument contains the SV pointer to the
276 scalar being stored, and C<hash> is the precomputed hash value (zero if
277 you want C<hv_store> to calculate it for you). The C<lval> parameter
278 indicates whether this fetch is actually a part of a store operation, in
279 which case a new undefined value will be added to the HV with the supplied
280 key and C<hv_fetch> will return as if the value had already existed.
282 Remember that C<hv_store> and C<hv_fetch> return C<SV**>'s and not just
283 C<SV*>. To access the scalar value, you must first dereference the return
284 value. However, you should check to make sure that the return value is
285 not NULL before dereferencing it.
287 These two functions check if a hash table entry exists, and deletes it.
289 bool hv_exists(HV*, char* key, U32 klen);
290 SV* hv_delete(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, I32 flags);
292 If C<flags> does not include the C<G_DISCARD> flag then C<hv_delete> will
293 create and return a mortal copy of the deleted value.
295 And more miscellaneous functions:
300 Like their AV counterparts, C<hv_clear> deletes all the entries in the hash
301 table but does not actually delete the hash table. The C<hv_undef> deletes
302 both the entries and the hash table itself.
304 Perl keeps the actual data in linked list of structures with a typedef of HE.
305 These contain the actual key and value pointers (plus extra administrative
306 overhead). The key is a string pointer; the value is an C<SV*>. However,
307 once you have an C<HE*>, to get the actual key and value, use the routines
310 I32 hv_iterinit(HV*);
311 /* Prepares starting point to traverse hash table */
312 HE* hv_iternext(HV*);
313 /* Get the next entry, and return a pointer to a
314 structure that has both the key and value */
315 char* hv_iterkey(HE* entry, I32* retlen);
316 /* Get the key from an HE structure and also return
317 the length of the key string */
318 SV* hv_iterval(HV*, HE* entry);
319 /* Return a SV pointer to the value of the HE
321 SV* hv_iternextsv(HV*, char** key, I32* retlen);
322 /* This convenience routine combines hv_iternext,
323 hv_iterkey, and hv_iterval. The key and retlen
324 arguments are return values for the key and its
325 length. The value is returned in the SV* argument */
327 If you know the name of a hash variable, you can get a pointer to its HV
328 by using the following:
330 HV* perl_get_hv("package::varname", FALSE);
332 This returns NULL if the variable does not exist.
334 The hash algorithm is defined in the C<PERL_HASH(hash, key, klen)> macro:
340 hash = hash * 33 + *s++;
342 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
343 information on how to use the hash access functions on tied hashes.
345 =head2 Hash API Extensions
347 Beginning with version 5.004, the following functions are also supported:
349 HE* hv_fetch_ent (HV* tb, SV* key, I32 lval, U32 hash);
350 HE* hv_store_ent (HV* tb, SV* key, SV* val, U32 hash);
352 bool hv_exists_ent (HV* tb, SV* key, U32 hash);
353 SV* hv_delete_ent (HV* tb, SV* key, I32 flags, U32 hash);
355 SV* hv_iterkeysv (HE* entry);
357 Note that these functions take C<SV*> keys, which simplifies writing
358 of extension code that deals with hash structures. These functions
359 also allow passing of C<SV*> keys to C<tie> functions without forcing
360 you to stringify the keys (unlike the previous set of functions).
362 They also return and accept whole hash entries (C<HE*>), making their
363 use more efficient (since the hash number for a particular string
364 doesn't have to be recomputed every time). See L<API LISTING> later in
365 this document for detailed descriptions.
367 The following macros must always be used to access the contents of hash
368 entries. Note that the arguments to these macros must be simple
369 variables, since they may get evaluated more than once. See
370 L<API LISTING> later in this document for detailed descriptions of these
373 HePV(HE* he, STRLEN len)
377 HeSVKEY_force(HE* he)
378 HeSVKEY_set(HE* he, SV* sv)
380 These two lower level macros are defined, but must only be used when
381 dealing with keys that are not C<SV*>s:
386 Note that both C<hv_store> and C<hv_store_ent> do not increment the
387 reference count of the stored C<val>, which is the caller's responsibility.
388 If these functions return a NULL value, the caller will usually have to
389 decrement the reference count of C<val> to avoid a memory leak.
393 References are a special type of scalar that point to other data types
394 (including references).
396 To create a reference, use either of the following functions:
398 SV* newRV_inc((SV*) thing);
399 SV* newRV_noinc((SV*) thing);
401 The C<thing> argument can be any of an C<SV*>, C<AV*>, or C<HV*>. The
402 functions are identical except that C<newRV_inc> increments the reference
403 count of the C<thing>, while C<newRV_noinc> does not. For historical
404 reasons, C<newRV> is a synonym for C<newRV_inc>.
406 Once you have a reference, you can use the following macro to dereference
411 then call the appropriate routines, casting the returned C<SV*> to either an
412 C<AV*> or C<HV*>, if required.
414 To determine if an SV is a reference, you can use the following macro:
418 To discover what type of value the reference refers to, use the following
419 macro and then check the return value.
423 The most useful types that will be returned are:
432 SVt_PVGV Glob (possible a file handle)
433 SVt_PVMG Blessed or Magical Scalar
435 See the sv.h header file for more details.
437 =head2 Blessed References and Class Objects
439 References are also used to support object-oriented programming. In the
440 OO lexicon, an object is simply a reference that has been blessed into a
441 package (or class). Once blessed, the programmer may now use the reference
442 to access the various methods in the class.
444 A reference can be blessed into a package with the following function:
446 SV* sv_bless(SV* sv, HV* stash);
448 The C<sv> argument must be a reference. The C<stash> argument specifies
449 which class the reference will belong to. See
450 L<Stashes and Globs> for information on converting class names into stashes.
452 /* Still under construction */
454 Upgrades rv to reference if not already one. Creates new SV for rv to
455 point to. If C<classname> is non-null, the SV is blessed into the specified
456 class. SV is returned.
458 SV* newSVrv(SV* rv, char* classname);
460 Copies integer or double into an SV whose reference is C<rv>. SV is blessed
461 if C<classname> is non-null.
463 SV* sv_setref_iv(SV* rv, char* classname, IV iv);
464 SV* sv_setref_nv(SV* rv, char* classname, NV iv);
466 Copies the pointer value (I<the address, not the string!>) into an SV whose
467 reference is rv. SV is blessed if C<classname> is non-null.
469 SV* sv_setref_pv(SV* rv, char* classname, PV iv);
471 Copies string into an SV whose reference is C<rv>. Set length to 0 to let
472 Perl calculate the string length. SV is blessed if C<classname> is non-null.
474 SV* sv_setref_pvn(SV* rv, char* classname, PV iv, int length);
476 int sv_isa(SV* sv, char* name);
477 int sv_isobject(SV* sv);
479 =head2 Creating New Variables
481 To create a new Perl variable with an undef value which can be accessed from
482 your Perl script, use the following routines, depending on the variable type.
484 SV* perl_get_sv("package::varname", TRUE);
485 AV* perl_get_av("package::varname", TRUE);
486 HV* perl_get_hv("package::varname", TRUE);
488 Notice the use of TRUE as the second parameter. The new variable can now
489 be set, using the routines appropriate to the data type.
491 There are additional macros whose values may be bitwise OR'ed with the
492 C<TRUE> argument to enable certain extra features. Those bits are:
494 GV_ADDMULTI Marks the variable as multiply defined, thus preventing the
495 "Name <varname> used only once: possible typo" warning.
496 GV_ADDWARN Issues the warning "Had to create <varname> unexpectedly" if
497 the variable did not exist before the function was called.
499 If you do not specify a package name, the variable is created in the current
502 =head2 Reference Counts and Mortality
504 Perl uses an reference count-driven garbage collection mechanism. SVs,
505 AVs, or HVs (xV for short in the following) start their life with a
506 reference count of 1. If the reference count of an xV ever drops to 0,
507 then it will be destroyed and its memory made available for reuse.
509 This normally doesn't happen at the Perl level unless a variable is
510 undef'ed or the last variable holding a reference to it is changed or
511 overwritten. At the internal level, however, reference counts can be
512 manipulated with the following macros:
514 int SvREFCNT(SV* sv);
515 SV* SvREFCNT_inc(SV* sv);
516 void SvREFCNT_dec(SV* sv);
518 However, there is one other function which manipulates the reference
519 count of its argument. The C<newRV_inc> function, you will recall,
520 creates a reference to the specified argument. As a side effect,
521 it increments the argument's reference count. If this is not what
522 you want, use C<newRV_noinc> instead.
524 For example, imagine you want to return a reference from an XSUB function.
525 Inside the XSUB routine, you create an SV which initially has a reference
526 count of one. Then you call C<newRV_inc>, passing it the just-created SV.
527 This returns the reference as a new SV, but the reference count of the
528 SV you passed to C<newRV_inc> has been incremented to two. Now you
529 return the reference from the XSUB routine and forget about the SV.
530 But Perl hasn't! Whenever the returned reference is destroyed, the
531 reference count of the original SV is decreased to one and nothing happens.
532 The SV will hang around without any way to access it until Perl itself
533 terminates. This is a memory leak.
535 The correct procedure, then, is to use C<newRV_noinc> instead of
536 C<newRV_inc>. Then, if and when the last reference is destroyed,
537 the reference count of the SV will go to zero and it will be destroyed,
538 stopping any memory leak.
540 There are some convenience functions available that can help with the
541 destruction of xVs. These functions introduce the concept of "mortality".
542 An xV that is mortal has had its reference count marked to be decremented,
543 but not actually decremented, until "a short time later". Generally the
544 term "short time later" means a single Perl statement, such as a call to
545 an XSUB function. The actual determinant for when mortal xVs have their
546 reference count decremented depends on two macros, SAVETMPS and FREETMPS.
547 See L<perlcall> and L<perlxs> for more details on these macros.
549 "Mortalization" then is at its simplest a deferred C<SvREFCNT_dec>.
550 However, if you mortalize a variable twice, the reference count will
551 later be decremented twice.
553 You should be careful about creating mortal variables. Strange things
554 can happen if you make the same value mortal within multiple contexts,
555 or if you make a variable mortal multiple times.
557 To create a mortal variable, use the functions:
561 SV* sv_mortalcopy(SV*)
563 The first call creates a mortal SV, the second converts an existing
564 SV to a mortal SV (and thus defers a call to C<SvREFCNT_dec>), and the
565 third creates a mortal copy of an existing SV.
567 The mortal routines are not just for SVs -- AVs and HVs can be
568 made mortal by passing their address (type-casted to C<SV*>) to the
569 C<sv_2mortal> or C<sv_mortalcopy> routines.
571 =head2 Stashes and Globs
573 A "stash" is a hash that contains all of the different objects that
574 are contained within a package. Each key of the stash is a symbol
575 name (shared by all the different types of objects that have the same
576 name), and each value in the hash table is a GV (Glob Value). This GV
577 in turn contains references to the various objects of that name,
578 including (but not limited to) the following:
588 There is a single stash called "defstash" that holds the items that exist
589 in the "main" package. To get at the items in other packages, append the
590 string "::" to the package name. The items in the "Foo" package are in
591 the stash "Foo::" in defstash. The items in the "Bar::Baz" package are
592 in the stash "Baz::" in "Bar::"'s stash.
594 To get the stash pointer for a particular package, use the function:
596 HV* gv_stashpv(char* name, I32 create)
597 HV* gv_stashsv(SV*, I32 create)
599 The first function takes a literal string, the second uses the string stored
600 in the SV. Remember that a stash is just a hash table, so you get back an
601 C<HV*>. The C<create> flag will create a new package if it is set.
603 The name that C<gv_stash*v> wants is the name of the package whose symbol table
604 you want. The default package is called C<main>. If you have multiply nested
605 packages, pass their names to C<gv_stash*v>, separated by C<::> as in the Perl
608 Alternately, if you have an SV that is a blessed reference, you can find
609 out the stash pointer by using:
611 HV* SvSTASH(SvRV(SV*));
613 then use the following to get the package name itself:
615 char* HvNAME(HV* stash);
617 If you need to bless or re-bless an object you can use the following
620 SV* sv_bless(SV*, HV* stash)
622 where the first argument, an C<SV*>, must be a reference, and the second
623 argument is a stash. The returned C<SV*> can now be used in the same way
626 For more information on references and blessings, consult L<perlref>.
628 =head2 Double-Typed SVs
630 Scalar variables normally contain only one type of value, an integer,
631 double, pointer, or reference. Perl will automatically convert the
632 actual scalar data from the stored type into the requested type.
634 Some scalar variables contain more than one type of scalar data. For
635 example, the variable C<$!> contains either the numeric value of C<errno>
636 or its string equivalent from either C<strerror> or C<sys_errlist[]>.
638 To force multiple data values into an SV, you must do two things: use the
639 C<sv_set*v> routines to add the additional scalar type, then set a flag
640 so that Perl will believe it contains more than one type of data. The
641 four macros to set the flags are:
648 The particular macro you must use depends on which C<sv_set*v> routine
649 you called first. This is because every C<sv_set*v> routine turns on
650 only the bit for the particular type of data being set, and turns off
653 For example, to create a new Perl variable called "dberror" that contains
654 both the numeric and descriptive string error values, you could use the
658 extern char *dberror_list;
660 SV* sv = perl_get_sv("dberror", TRUE);
661 sv_setiv(sv, (IV) dberror);
662 sv_setpv(sv, dberror_list[dberror]);
665 If the order of C<sv_setiv> and C<sv_setpv> had been reversed, then the
666 macro C<SvPOK_on> would need to be called instead of C<SvIOK_on>.
668 =head2 Magic Variables
670 [This section still under construction. Ignore everything here. Post no
671 bills. Everything not permitted is forbidden.]
673 Any SV may be magical, that is, it has special features that a normal
674 SV does not have. These features are stored in the SV structure in a
675 linked list of C<struct magic>'s, typedef'ed to C<MAGIC>.
688 Note this is current as of patchlevel 0, and could change at any time.
690 =head2 Assigning Magic
692 Perl adds magic to an SV using the sv_magic function:
694 void sv_magic(SV* sv, SV* obj, int how, char* name, I32 namlen);
696 The C<sv> argument is a pointer to the SV that is to acquire a new magical
699 If C<sv> is not already magical, Perl uses the C<SvUPGRADE> macro to
700 set the C<SVt_PVMG> flag for the C<sv>. Perl then continues by adding
701 it to the beginning of the linked list of magical features. Any prior
702 entry of the same type of magic is deleted. Note that this can be
703 overridden, and multiple instances of the same type of magic can be
704 associated with an SV.
706 The C<name> and C<namlen> arguments are used to associate a string with
707 the magic, typically the name of a variable. C<namlen> is stored in the
708 C<mg_len> field and if C<name> is non-null and C<namlen> >= 0 a malloc'd
709 copy of the name is stored in C<mg_ptr> field.
711 The sv_magic function uses C<how> to determine which, if any, predefined
712 "Magic Virtual Table" should be assigned to the C<mg_virtual> field.
713 See the "Magic Virtual Table" section below. The C<how> argument is also
714 stored in the C<mg_type> field.
716 The C<obj> argument is stored in the C<mg_obj> field of the C<MAGIC>
717 structure. If it is not the same as the C<sv> argument, the reference
718 count of the C<obj> object is incremented. If it is the same, or if
719 the C<how> argument is "#", or if it is a NULL pointer, then C<obj> is
720 merely stored, without the reference count being incremented.
722 There is also a function to add magic to an C<HV>:
724 void hv_magic(HV *hv, GV *gv, int how);
726 This simply calls C<sv_magic> and coerces the C<gv> argument into an C<SV>.
728 To remove the magic from an SV, call the function sv_unmagic:
730 void sv_unmagic(SV *sv, int type);
732 The C<type> argument should be equal to the C<how> value when the C<SV>
733 was initially made magical.
735 =head2 Magic Virtual Tables
737 The C<mg_virtual> field in the C<MAGIC> structure is a pointer to a
738 C<MGVTBL>, which is a structure of function pointers and stands for
739 "Magic Virtual Table" to handle the various operations that might be
740 applied to that variable.
742 The C<MGVTBL> has five pointers to the following routine types:
744 int (*svt_get)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
745 int (*svt_set)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
746 U32 (*svt_len)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
747 int (*svt_clear)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
748 int (*svt_free)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
750 This MGVTBL structure is set at compile-time in C<perl.h> and there are
751 currently 19 types (or 21 with overloading turned on). These different
752 structures contain pointers to various routines that perform additional
753 actions depending on which function is being called.
755 Function pointer Action taken
756 ---------------- ------------
757 svt_get Do something after the value of the SV is retrieved.
758 svt_set Do something after the SV is assigned a value.
759 svt_len Report on the SV's length.
760 svt_clear Clear something the SV represents.
761 svt_free Free any extra storage associated with the SV.
763 For instance, the MGVTBL structure called C<vtbl_sv> (which corresponds
764 to an C<mg_type> of '\0') contains:
766 { magic_get, magic_set, magic_len, 0, 0 }
768 Thus, when an SV is determined to be magical and of type '\0', if a get
769 operation is being performed, the routine C<magic_get> is called. All
770 the various routines for the various magical types begin with C<magic_>.
772 The current kinds of Magic Virtual Tables are:
774 mg_type MGVTBL Type of magic
775 ------- ------ ----------------------------
776 \0 vtbl_sv Special scalar variable
777 A vtbl_amagic %OVERLOAD hash
778 a vtbl_amagicelem %OVERLOAD hash element
779 c (none) Holds overload table (AMT) on stash
780 B vtbl_bm Boyer-Moore (fast string search)
782 e vtbl_envelem %ENV hash element
783 f vtbl_fm Formline ('compiled' format)
784 g vtbl_mglob m//g target / study()ed string
785 I vtbl_isa @ISA array
786 i vtbl_isaelem @ISA array element
787 k vtbl_nkeys scalar(keys()) lvalue
788 L (none) Debugger %_<filename
789 l vtbl_dbline Debugger %_<filename element
790 o vtbl_collxfrm Locale transformation
791 P vtbl_pack Tied array or hash
792 p vtbl_packelem Tied array or hash element
793 q vtbl_packelem Tied scalar or handle
795 s vtbl_sigelem %SIG hash element
796 t vtbl_taint Taintedness
797 U vtbl_uvar Available for use by extensions
798 v vtbl_vec vec() lvalue
799 x vtbl_substr substr() lvalue
800 y vtbl_defelem Shadow "foreach" iterator variable /
801 smart parameter vivification
802 * vtbl_glob GV (typeglob)
803 # vtbl_arylen Array length ($#ary)
804 . vtbl_pos pos() lvalue
805 ~ (none) Available for use by extensions
807 When an uppercase and lowercase letter both exist in the table, then the
808 uppercase letter is used to represent some kind of composite type (a list
809 or a hash), and the lowercase letter is used to represent an element of
812 The '~' and 'U' magic types are defined specifically for use by
813 extensions and will not be used by perl itself. Extensions can use
814 '~' magic to 'attach' private information to variables (typically
815 objects). This is especially useful because there is no way for
816 normal perl code to corrupt this private information (unlike using
817 extra elements of a hash object).
819 Similarly, 'U' magic can be used much like tie() to call a C function
820 any time a scalar's value is used or changed. The C<MAGIC>'s
821 C<mg_ptr> field points to a C<ufuncs> structure:
824 I32 (*uf_val)(IV, SV*);
825 I32 (*uf_set)(IV, SV*);
829 When the SV is read from or written to, the C<uf_val> or C<uf_set>
830 function will be called with C<uf_index> as the first arg and a
831 pointer to the SV as the second.
833 Note that because multiple extensions may be using '~' or 'U' magic,
834 it is important for extensions to take extra care to avoid conflict.
835 Typically only using the magic on objects blessed into the same class
836 as the extension is sufficient. For '~' magic, it may also be
837 appropriate to add an I32 'signature' at the top of the private data
840 Also note that most of the C<sv_set*()> functions that modify scalars do
841 B<not> invoke 'set' magic on their targets. This must be done by the user
842 either by calling the C<SvSETMAGIC()> macro after calling these functions,
843 or by using one of the C<SvSetMagic*()> macros. Similarly, generic C code
844 must call the C<SvGETMAGIC()> macro to invoke any 'get' magic if they use
845 an SV obtained from external sources in functions that don't handle magic.
846 L<API LISTING> later in this document identifies such macros and functions.
847 For example, calls to the C<sv_cat*()> functions typically need to be
848 followed by C<SvSETMAGIC()>, but they don't need a prior C<SvGETMAGIC()>
849 since their implementation handles 'get' magic.
853 MAGIC* mg_find(SV*, int type); /* Finds the magic pointer of that type */
855 This routine returns a pointer to the C<MAGIC> structure stored in the SV.
856 If the SV does not have that magical feature, C<NULL> is returned. Also,
857 if the SV is not of type SVt_PVMG, Perl may core dump.
859 int mg_copy(SV* sv, SV* nsv, char* key, STRLEN klen);
861 This routine checks to see what types of magic C<sv> has. If the mg_type
862 field is an uppercase letter, then the mg_obj is copied to C<nsv>, but
863 the mg_type field is changed to be the lowercase letter.
865 =head2 Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays
867 Tied hashes and arrays are magical beasts of the 'P' magic type.
869 WARNING: As of the 5.004 release, proper usage of the array and hash
870 access functions requires understanding a few caveats. Some
871 of these caveats are actually considered bugs in the API, to be fixed
872 in later releases, and are bracketed with [MAYCHANGE] below. If
873 you find yourself actually applying such information in this section, be
874 aware that the behavior may change in the future, umm, without warning.
876 The C<av_store> function, when given a tied array argument, merely
877 copies the magic of the array onto the value to be "stored", using
878 C<mg_copy>. It may also return NULL, indicating that the value did not
879 actually need to be stored in the array. [MAYCHANGE] After a call to
880 C<av_store> on a tied array, the caller will usually need to call
881 C<mg_set(val)> to actually invoke the perl level "STORE" method on the
882 TIEARRAY object. If C<av_store> did return NULL, a call to
883 C<SvREFCNT_dec(val)> will also be usually necessary to avoid a memory
886 The previous paragraph is applicable verbatim to tied hash access using the
887 C<hv_store> and C<hv_store_ent> functions as well.
889 C<av_fetch> and the corresponding hash functions C<hv_fetch> and
890 C<hv_fetch_ent> actually return an undefined mortal value whose magic
891 has been initialized using C<mg_copy>. Note the value so returned does not
892 need to be deallocated, as it is already mortal. [MAYCHANGE] But you will
893 need to call C<mg_get()> on the returned value in order to actually invoke
894 the perl level "FETCH" method on the underlying TIE object. Similarly,
895 you may also call C<mg_set()> on the return value after possibly assigning
896 a suitable value to it using C<sv_setsv>, which will invoke the "STORE"
897 method on the TIE object. [/MAYCHANGE]
900 In other words, the array or hash fetch/store functions don't really
901 fetch and store actual values in the case of tied arrays and hashes. They
902 merely call C<mg_copy> to attach magic to the values that were meant to be
903 "stored" or "fetched". Later calls to C<mg_get> and C<mg_set> actually
904 do the job of invoking the TIE methods on the underlying objects. Thus
905 the magic mechanism currently implements a kind of lazy access to arrays
908 Currently (as of perl version 5.004), use of the hash and array access
909 functions requires the user to be aware of whether they are operating on
910 "normal" hashes and arrays, or on their tied variants. The API may be
911 changed to provide more transparent access to both tied and normal data
912 types in future versions.
915 You would do well to understand that the TIEARRAY and TIEHASH interfaces
916 are mere sugar to invoke some perl method calls while using the uniform hash
917 and array syntax. The use of this sugar imposes some overhead (typically
918 about two to four extra opcodes per FETCH/STORE operation, in addition to
919 the creation of all the mortal variables required to invoke the methods).
920 This overhead will be comparatively small if the TIE methods are themselves
921 substantial, but if they are only a few statements long, the overhead
922 will not be insignificant.
924 =head2 Localizing changes
926 Perl has a very handy construction
933 This construction is I<approximately> equivalent to
942 The biggest difference is that the first construction would
943 reinstate the initial value of $var, irrespective of how control exits
944 the block: C<goto>, C<return>, C<die>/C<eval> etc. It is a little bit
945 more efficient as well.
947 There is a way to achieve a similar task from C via Perl API: create a
948 I<pseudo-block>, and arrange for some changes to be automatically
949 undone at the end of it, either explicit, or via a non-local exit (via
950 die()). A I<block>-like construct is created by a pair of
951 C<ENTER>/C<LEAVE> macros (see L<perlcall/EXAMPLE/"Returning a
952 Scalar">). Such a construct may be created specially for some
953 important localized task, or an existing one (like boundaries of
954 enclosing Perl subroutine/block, or an existing pair for freeing TMPs)
955 may be used. (In the second case the overhead of additional
956 localization must be almost negligible.) Note that any XSUB is
957 automatically enclosed in an C<ENTER>/C<LEAVE> pair.
959 Inside such a I<pseudo-block> the following service is available:
963 =item C<SAVEINT(int i)>
965 =item C<SAVEIV(IV i)>
967 =item C<SAVEI32(I32 i)>
969 =item C<SAVELONG(long i)>
971 These macros arrange things to restore the value of integer variable
972 C<i> at the end of enclosing I<pseudo-block>.
978 These macros arrange things to restore the value of pointers C<s> and
979 C<p>. C<s> must be a pointer of a type which survives conversion to
980 C<SV*> and back, C<p> should be able to survive conversion to C<char*>
983 =item C<SAVEFREESV(SV *sv)>
985 The refcount of C<sv> would be decremented at the end of
986 I<pseudo-block>. This is similar to C<sv_2mortal>, which should (?) be
989 =item C<SAVEFREEOP(OP *op)>
991 The C<OP *> is op_free()ed at the end of I<pseudo-block>.
993 =item C<SAVEFREEPV(p)>
995 The chunk of memory which is pointed to by C<p> is Safefree()ed at the
996 end of I<pseudo-block>.
998 =item C<SAVECLEARSV(SV *sv)>
1000 Clears a slot in the current scratchpad which corresponds to C<sv> at
1001 the end of I<pseudo-block>.
1003 =item C<SAVEDELETE(HV *hv, char *key, I32 length)>
1005 The key C<key> of C<hv> is deleted at the end of I<pseudo-block>. The
1006 string pointed to by C<key> is Safefree()ed. If one has a I<key> in
1007 short-lived storage, the corresponding string may be reallocated like
1010 SAVEDELETE(defstash, savepv(tmpbuf), strlen(tmpbuf));
1012 =item C<SAVEDESTRUCTOR(f,p)>
1014 At the end of I<pseudo-block> the function C<f> is called with the
1015 only argument (of type C<void*>) C<p>.
1017 =item C<SAVESTACK_POS()>
1019 The current offset on the Perl internal stack (cf. C<SP>) is restored
1020 at the end of I<pseudo-block>.
1024 The following API list contains functions, thus one needs to
1025 provide pointers to the modifiable data explicitly (either C pointers,
1026 or Perlish C<GV *>s). Where the above macros take C<int>, a similar
1027 function takes C<int *>.
1031 =item C<SV* save_scalar(GV *gv)>
1033 Equivalent to Perl code C<local $gv>.
1035 =item C<AV* save_ary(GV *gv)>
1037 =item C<HV* save_hash(GV *gv)>
1039 Similar to C<save_scalar>, but localize C<@gv> and C<%gv>.
1041 =item C<void save_item(SV *item)>
1043 Duplicates the current value of C<SV>, on the exit from the current
1044 C<ENTER>/C<LEAVE> I<pseudo-block> will restore the value of C<SV>
1045 using the stored value.
1047 =item C<void save_list(SV **sarg, I32 maxsarg)>
1049 A variant of C<save_item> which takes multiple arguments via an array
1050 C<sarg> of C<SV*> of length C<maxsarg>.
1052 =item C<SV* save_svref(SV **sptr)>
1054 Similar to C<save_scalar>, but will reinstate a C<SV *>.
1056 =item C<void save_aptr(AV **aptr)>
1058 =item C<void save_hptr(HV **hptr)>
1060 Similar to C<save_svref>, but localize C<AV *> and C<HV *>.
1064 The C<Alias> module implements localization of the basic types within the
1065 I<caller's scope>. People who are interested in how to localize things in
1066 the containing scope should take a look there too.
1070 =head2 XSUBs and the Argument Stack
1072 The XSUB mechanism is a simple way for Perl programs to access C subroutines.
1073 An XSUB routine will have a stack that contains the arguments from the Perl
1074 program, and a way to map from the Perl data structures to a C equivalent.
1076 The stack arguments are accessible through the C<ST(n)> macro, which returns
1077 the C<n>'th stack argument. Argument 0 is the first argument passed in the
1078 Perl subroutine call. These arguments are C<SV*>, and can be used anywhere
1081 Most of the time, output from the C routine can be handled through use of
1082 the RETVAL and OUTPUT directives. However, there are some cases where the
1083 argument stack is not already long enough to handle all the return values.
1084 An example is the POSIX tzname() call, which takes no arguments, but returns
1085 two, the local time zone's standard and summer time abbreviations.
1087 To handle this situation, the PPCODE directive is used and the stack is
1088 extended using the macro:
1092 where C<sp> is the stack pointer, and C<num> is the number of elements the
1093 stack should be extended by.
1095 Now that there is room on the stack, values can be pushed on it using the
1096 macros to push IVs, doubles, strings, and SV pointers respectively:
1103 And now the Perl program calling C<tzname>, the two values will be assigned
1106 ($standard_abbrev, $summer_abbrev) = POSIX::tzname;
1108 An alternate (and possibly simpler) method to pushing values on the stack is
1116 These macros automatically adjust the stack for you, if needed. Thus, you
1117 do not need to call C<EXTEND> to extend the stack.
1119 For more information, consult L<perlxs> and L<perlxstut>.
1121 =head2 Calling Perl Routines from within C Programs
1123 There are four routines that can be used to call a Perl subroutine from
1124 within a C program. These four are:
1126 I32 perl_call_sv(SV*, I32);
1127 I32 perl_call_pv(char*, I32);
1128 I32 perl_call_method(char*, I32);
1129 I32 perl_call_argv(char*, I32, register char**);
1131 The routine most often used is C<perl_call_sv>. The C<SV*> argument
1132 contains either the name of the Perl subroutine to be called, or a
1133 reference to the subroutine. The second argument consists of flags
1134 that control the context in which the subroutine is called, whether
1135 or not the subroutine is being passed arguments, how errors should be
1136 trapped, and how to treat return values.
1138 All four routines return the number of arguments that the subroutine returned
1141 When using any of these routines (except C<perl_call_argv>), the programmer
1142 must manipulate the Perl stack. These include the following macros and
1156 For a detailed description of calling conventions from C to Perl,
1157 consult L<perlcall>.
1159 =head2 Memory Allocation
1161 It is suggested that you use the version of malloc that is distributed
1162 with Perl. It keeps pools of various sizes of unallocated memory in
1163 order to satisfy allocation requests more quickly. However, on some
1164 platforms, it may cause spurious malloc or free errors.
1166 New(x, pointer, number, type);
1167 Newc(x, pointer, number, type, cast);
1168 Newz(x, pointer, number, type);
1170 These three macros are used to initially allocate memory.
1172 The first argument C<x> was a "magic cookie" that was used to keep track
1173 of who called the macro, to help when debugging memory problems. However,
1174 the current code makes no use of this feature (most Perl developers now
1175 use run-time memory checkers), so this argument can be any number.
1177 The second argument C<pointer> should be the name of a variable that will
1178 point to the newly allocated memory.
1180 The third and fourth arguments C<number> and C<type> specify how many of
1181 the specified type of data structure should be allocated. The argument
1182 C<type> is passed to C<sizeof>. The final argument to C<Newc>, C<cast>,
1183 should be used if the C<pointer> argument is different from the C<type>
1186 Unlike the C<New> and C<Newc> macros, the C<Newz> macro calls C<memzero>
1187 to zero out all the newly allocated memory.
1189 Renew(pointer, number, type);
1190 Renewc(pointer, number, type, cast);
1193 These three macros are used to change a memory buffer size or to free a
1194 piece of memory no longer needed. The arguments to C<Renew> and C<Renewc>
1195 match those of C<New> and C<Newc> with the exception of not needing the
1196 "magic cookie" argument.
1198 Move(source, dest, number, type);
1199 Copy(source, dest, number, type);
1200 Zero(dest, number, type);
1202 These three macros are used to move, copy, or zero out previously allocated
1203 memory. The C<source> and C<dest> arguments point to the source and
1204 destination starting points. Perl will move, copy, or zero out C<number>
1205 instances of the size of the C<type> data structure (using the C<sizeof>
1210 The most recent development releases of Perl has been experimenting with
1211 removing Perl's dependency on the "normal" standard I/O suite and allowing
1212 other stdio implementations to be used. This involves creating a new
1213 abstraction layer that then calls whichever implementation of stdio Perl
1214 was compiled with. All XSUBs should now use the functions in the PerlIO
1215 abstraction layer and not make any assumptions about what kind of stdio
1218 For a complete description of the PerlIO abstraction, consult L<perlapio>.
1220 =head2 Putting a C value on Perl stack
1222 A lot of opcodes (this is an elementary operation in the internal perl
1223 stack machine) put an SV* on the stack. However, as an optimization
1224 the corresponding SV is (usually) not recreated each time. The opcodes
1225 reuse specially assigned SVs (I<target>s) which are (as a corollary)
1226 not constantly freed/created.
1228 Each of the targets is created only once (but see
1229 L<Scratchpads and recursion> below), and when an opcode needs to put
1230 an integer, a double, or a string on stack, it just sets the
1231 corresponding parts of its I<target> and puts the I<target> on stack.
1233 The macro to put this target on stack is C<PUSHTARG>, and it is
1234 directly used in some opcodes, as well as indirectly in zillions of
1235 others, which use it via C<(X)PUSH[pni]>.
1239 The question remains on when the SVs which are I<target>s for opcodes
1240 are created. The answer is that they are created when the current unit --
1241 a subroutine or a file (for opcodes for statements outside of
1242 subroutines) -- is compiled. During this time a special anonymous Perl
1243 array is created, which is called a scratchpad for the current
1246 A scratchpad keeps SVs which are lexicals for the current unit and are
1247 targets for opcodes. One can deduce that an SV lives on a scratchpad
1248 by looking on its flags: lexicals have C<SVs_PADMY> set, and
1249 I<target>s have C<SVs_PADTMP> set.
1251 The correspondence between OPs and I<target>s is not 1-to-1. Different
1252 OPs in the compile tree of the unit can use the same target, if this
1253 would not conflict with the expected life of the temporary.
1255 =head2 Scratchpads and recursion
1257 In fact it is not 100% true that a compiled unit contains a pointer to
1258 the scratchpad AV. In fact it contains a pointer to an AV of
1259 (initially) one element, and this element is the scratchpad AV. Why do
1260 we need an extra level of indirection?
1262 The answer is B<recursion>, and maybe (sometime soon) B<threads>. Both
1263 these can create several execution pointers going into the same
1264 subroutine. For the subroutine-child not write over the temporaries
1265 for the subroutine-parent (lifespan of which covers the call to the
1266 child), the parent and the child should have different
1267 scratchpads. (I<And> the lexicals should be separate anyway!)
1269 So each subroutine is born with an array of scratchpads (of length 1).
1270 On each entry to the subroutine it is checked that the current
1271 depth of the recursion is not more than the length of this array, and
1272 if it is, new scratchpad is created and pushed into the array.
1274 The I<target>s on this scratchpad are C<undef>s, but they are already
1275 marked with correct flags.
1277 =head1 Compiled code
1281 Here we describe the internal form your code is converted to by
1282 Perl. Start with a simple example:
1286 This is converted to a tree similar to this one:
1294 (but slightly more complicated). This tree reflect the way Perl
1295 parsed your code, but has nothing to do with the execution order.
1296 There is an additional "thread" going through the nodes of the tree
1297 which shows the order of execution of the nodes. In our simplified
1298 example above it looks like:
1300 $b ---> $c ---> + ---> $a ---> assign-to
1302 But with the actual compile tree for C<$a = $b + $c> it is different:
1303 some nodes I<optimized away>. As a corollary, though the actual tree
1304 contains more nodes than our simplified example, the execution order
1305 is the same as in our example.
1307 =head2 Examining the tree
1309 If you have your perl compiled for debugging (usually done with C<-D
1310 optimize=-g> on C<Configure> command line), you may examine the
1311 compiled tree by specifying C<-Dx> on the Perl command line. The
1312 output takes several lines per node, and for C<$b+$c> it looks like
1317 FLAGS = (SCALAR,KIDS)
1319 TYPE = null ===> (4)
1321 FLAGS = (SCALAR,KIDS)
1323 3 TYPE = gvsv ===> 4
1329 TYPE = null ===> (5)
1331 FLAGS = (SCALAR,KIDS)
1333 4 TYPE = gvsv ===> 5
1339 This tree has 5 nodes (one per C<TYPE> specifier), only 3 of them are
1340 not optimized away (one per number in the left column). The immediate
1341 children of the given node correspond to C<{}> pairs on the same level
1342 of indentation, thus this listing corresponds to the tree:
1350 The execution order is indicated by C<===E<gt>> marks, thus it is C<3
1351 4 5 6> (node C<6> is not included into above listing), i.e.,
1352 C<gvsv gvsv add whatever>.
1354 =head2 Compile pass 1: check routines
1356 The tree is created by the I<pseudo-compiler> while yacc code feeds it
1357 the constructions it recognizes. Since yacc works bottom-up, so does
1358 the first pass of perl compilation.
1360 What makes this pass interesting for perl developers is that some
1361 optimization may be performed on this pass. This is optimization by
1362 so-called I<check routines>. The correspondence between node names
1363 and corresponding check routines is described in F<opcode.pl> (do not
1364 forget to run C<make regen_headers> if you modify this file).
1366 A check routine is called when the node is fully constructed except
1367 for the execution-order thread. Since at this time there is no
1368 back-links to the currently constructed node, one can do most any
1369 operation to the top-level node, including freeing it and/or creating
1370 new nodes above/below it.
1372 The check routine returns the node which should be inserted into the
1373 tree (if the top-level node was not modified, check routine returns
1376 By convention, check routines have names C<ck_*>. They are usually
1377 called from C<new*OP> subroutines (or C<convert>) (which in turn are
1378 called from F<perly.y>).
1380 =head2 Compile pass 1a: constant folding
1382 Immediately after the check routine is called the returned node is
1383 checked for being compile-time executable. If it is (the value is
1384 judged to be constant) it is immediately executed, and a I<constant>
1385 node with the "return value" of the corresponding subtree is
1386 substituted instead. The subtree is deleted.
1388 If constant folding was not performed, the execution-order thread is
1391 =head2 Compile pass 2: context propagation
1393 When a context for a part of compile tree is known, it is propagated
1394 down through the tree. Aat this time the context can have 5 values
1395 (instead of 2 for runtime context): void, boolean, scalar, list, and
1396 lvalue. In contrast with the pass 1 this pass is processed from top
1397 to bottom: a node's context determines the context for its children.
1399 Additional context-dependent optimizations are performed at this time.
1400 Since at this moment the compile tree contains back-references (via
1401 "thread" pointers), nodes cannot be free()d now. To allow
1402 optimized-away nodes at this stage, such nodes are null()ified instead
1403 of free()ing (i.e. their type is changed to OP_NULL).
1405 =head2 Compile pass 3: peephole optimization
1407 After the compile tree for a subroutine (or for an C<eval> or a file)
1408 is created, an additional pass over the code is performed. This pass
1409 is neither top-down or bottom-up, but in the execution order (with
1410 additional compilications for conditionals). These optimizations are
1411 done in the subroutine peep(). Optimizations performed at this stage
1412 are subject to the same restrictions as in the pass 2.
1416 This is a listing of functions, macros, flags, and variables that may be
1417 useful to extension writers or that may be found while reading other
1428 Clears an array, making it empty. Does not free the memory used by the
1431 void av_clear _((AV* ar));
1435 Pre-extend an array. The C<key> is the index to which the array should be
1438 void av_extend _((AV* ar, I32 key));
1442 Returns the SV at the specified index in the array. The C<key> is the
1443 index. If C<lval> is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Check
1444 that the return value is non-null before dereferencing it to a C<SV*>.
1446 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1447 information on how to use this function on tied arrays.
1449 SV** av_fetch _((AV* ar, I32 key, I32 lval));
1453 Returns the highest index in the array. Returns -1 if the array is empty.
1455 I32 av_len _((AV* ar));
1459 Creates a new AV and populates it with a list of SVs. The SVs are copied
1460 into the array, so they may be freed after the call to av_make. The new AV
1461 will have a reference count of 1.
1463 AV* av_make _((I32 size, SV** svp));
1467 Pops an SV off the end of the array. Returns C<&sv_undef> if the array is
1470 SV* av_pop _((AV* ar));
1474 Pushes an SV onto the end of the array. The array will grow automatically
1475 to accommodate the addition.
1477 void av_push _((AV* ar, SV* val));
1481 Shifts an SV off the beginning of the array.
1483 SV* av_shift _((AV* ar));
1487 Stores an SV in an array. The array index is specified as C<key>. The
1488 return value will be NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not
1489 need to be actually stored within the array (as in the case of tied arrays).
1490 Otherwise it can be dereferenced to get the original C<SV*>. Note that the
1491 caller is responsible for suitably incrementing the reference count of C<val>
1492 before the call, and decrementing it if the function returned NULL.
1494 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1495 information on how to use this function on tied arrays.
1497 SV** av_store _((AV* ar, I32 key, SV* val));
1501 Undefines the array. Frees the memory used by the array itself.
1503 void av_undef _((AV* ar));
1507 Unshift the given number of C<undef> values onto the beginning of the
1508 array. The array will grow automatically to accommodate the addition.
1509 You must then use C<av_store> to assign values to these new elements.
1511 void av_unshift _((AV* ar, I32 num));
1515 Variable which is setup by C<xsubpp> to indicate the class name for a C++ XS
1516 constructor. This is always a C<char*>. See C<THIS> and
1517 L<perlxs/"Using XS With C++">.
1521 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<memcpy> function. The C<s> is the
1522 source, C<d> is the destination, C<n> is the number of items, and C<t> is
1523 the type. May fail on overlapping copies. See also C<Move>.
1525 (void) Copy( s, d, n, t );
1529 This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's C<die> function. Use this
1530 function the same way you use the C C<printf> function. See C<warn>.
1534 Returns the stash of the CV.
1536 HV * CvSTASH( SV* sv )
1540 When Perl is run in debugging mode, with the B<-d> switch, this SV is a
1541 boolean which indicates whether subs are being single-stepped.
1542 Single-stepping is automatically turned on after every step. This is the C
1543 variable which corresponds to Perl's $DB::single variable. See C<DBsub>.
1547 When Perl is run in debugging mode, with the B<-d> switch, this GV contains
1548 the SV which holds the name of the sub being debugged. This is the C
1549 variable which corresponds to Perl's $DB::sub variable. See C<DBsingle>.
1550 The sub name can be found by
1552 SvPV( GvSV( DBsub ), na )
1556 Trace variable used when Perl is run in debugging mode, with the B<-d>
1557 switch. This is the C variable which corresponds to Perl's $DB::trace
1558 variable. See C<DBsingle>.
1562 Declare a stack marker variable, C<mark>, for the XSUB. See C<MARK> and
1567 Saves the original stack mark for the XSUB. See C<ORIGMARK>.
1571 The C variable which corresponds to Perl's $^W warning variable.
1575 Declares a stack pointer variable, C<sp>, for the XSUB. See C<SP>.
1579 Sets up stack and mark pointers for an XSUB, calling dSP and dMARK. This is
1580 usually handled automatically by C<xsubpp>. Declares the C<items> variable
1581 to indicate the number of items on the stack.
1585 Sets up the C<ix> variable for an XSUB which has aliases. This is usually
1586 handled automatically by C<xsubpp>.
1590 Opening bracket on a callback. See C<LEAVE> and L<perlcall>.
1596 Used to extend the argument stack for an XSUB's return values.
1598 EXTEND( sp, int x );
1602 Closing bracket for temporaries on a callback. See C<SAVETMPS> and
1609 Used to indicate array context. See C<GIMME_V>, C<GIMME> and L<perlcall>.
1613 Indicates that arguments returned from a callback should be discarded. See
1618 Used to force a Perl C<eval> wrapper around a callback. See L<perlcall>.
1622 A backward-compatible version of C<GIMME_V> which can only return
1623 C<G_SCALAR> or C<G_ARRAY>; in a void context, it returns C<G_SCALAR>.
1627 The XSUB-writer's equivalent to Perl's C<wantarray>. Returns
1628 C<G_VOID>, C<G_SCALAR> or C<G_ARRAY> for void, scalar or array
1629 context, respectively.
1633 Indicates that no arguments are being sent to a callback. See L<perlcall>.
1637 Used to indicate scalar context. See C<GIMME_V>, C<GIMME>, and L<perlcall>.
1641 Used to indicate void context. See C<GIMME_V> and L<perlcall>.
1645 Returns the glob with the given C<name> and a defined subroutine or
1646 C<NULL>. The glob lives in the given C<stash>, or in the stashes
1647 accessable via @ISA and @<UNIVERSAL>.
1649 The argument C<level> should be either 0 or -1. If C<level==0>, as a
1650 side-effect creates a glob with the given C<name> in the given
1651 C<stash> which in the case of success contains an alias for the
1652 subroutine, and sets up caching info for this glob. Similarly for all
1653 the searched stashes.
1655 This function grants C<"SUPER"> token as a postfix of the stash name.
1657 The GV returned from C<gv_fetchmeth> may be a method cache entry,
1658 which is not visible to Perl code. So when calling C<perl_call_sv>,
1659 you should not use the GV directly; instead, you should use the
1660 method's CV, which can be obtained from the GV with the C<GvCV> macro.
1662 GV* gv_fetchmeth _((HV* stash, char* name, STRLEN len, I32 level));
1664 =item gv_fetchmethod
1666 =item gv_fetchmethod_autoload
1668 Returns the glob which contains the subroutine to call to invoke the
1669 method on the C<stash>. In fact in the presense of autoloading this may
1670 be the glob for "AUTOLOAD". In this case the corresponding variable
1671 $AUTOLOAD is already setup.
1673 The third parameter of C<gv_fetchmethod_autoload> determines whether AUTOLOAD
1674 lookup is performed if the given method is not present: non-zero means
1675 yes, look for AUTOLOAD; zero means no, don't look for AUTOLOAD. Calling
1676 C<gv_fetchmethod> is equivalent to calling C<gv_fetchmethod_autoload> with a
1677 non-zero C<autoload> parameter.
1679 These functions grant C<"SUPER"> token as a prefix of the method name.
1681 Note that if you want to keep the returned glob for a long time, you
1682 need to check for it being "AUTOLOAD", since at the later time the call
1683 may load a different subroutine due to $AUTOLOAD changing its value.
1684 Use the glob created via a side effect to do this.
1686 These functions have the same side-effects and as C<gv_fetchmeth> with
1687 C<level==0>. C<name> should be writable if contains C<':'> or C<'\''>.
1688 The warning against passing the GV returned by C<gv_fetchmeth> to
1689 C<perl_call_sv> apply equally to these functions.
1691 GV* gv_fetchmethod _((HV* stash, char* name));
1692 GV* gv_fetchmethod_autoload _((HV* stash, char* name,
1697 Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package. If C<create> is set
1698 then the package will be created if it does not already exist. If C<create>
1699 is not set and the package does not exist then NULL is returned.
1701 HV* gv_stashpv _((char* name, I32 create));
1705 Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package. See C<gv_stashpv>.
1707 HV* gv_stashsv _((SV* sv, I32 create));
1711 Return the SV from the GV.
1715 This flag, used in the length slot of hash entries and magic
1716 structures, specifies the structure contains a C<SV*> pointer where a
1717 C<char*> pointer is to be expected. (For information only--not to be used).
1721 Returns the computed hash (type C<U32>) stored in the hash entry.
1727 Returns the actual pointer stored in the key slot of the hash entry.
1728 The pointer may be either C<char*> or C<SV*>, depending on the value of
1729 C<HeKLEN()>. Can be assigned to. The C<HePV()> or C<HeSVKEY()> macros
1730 are usually preferable for finding the value of a key.
1736 If this is negative, and amounts to C<HEf_SVKEY>, it indicates the entry
1737 holds an C<SV*> key. Otherwise, holds the actual length of the key.
1738 Can be assigned to. The C<HePV()> macro is usually preferable for finding
1745 Returns the key slot of the hash entry as a C<char*> value, doing any
1746 necessary dereferencing of possibly C<SV*> keys. The length of
1747 the string is placed in C<len> (this is a macro, so do I<not> use
1748 C<&len>). If you do not care about what the length of the key is,
1749 you may use the global variable C<na>. Remember though, that hash
1750 keys in perl are free to contain embedded nulls, so using C<strlen()>
1751 or similar is not a good way to find the length of hash keys.
1752 This is very similar to the C<SvPV()> macro described elsewhere in
1755 HePV(HE* he, STRLEN len)
1759 Returns the key as an C<SV*>, or C<Nullsv> if the hash entry
1760 does not contain an C<SV*> key.
1766 Returns the key as an C<SV*>. Will create and return a temporary
1767 mortal C<SV*> if the hash entry contains only a C<char*> key.
1769 HeSVKEY_force(HE* he)
1773 Sets the key to a given C<SV*>, taking care to set the appropriate flags
1774 to indicate the presence of an C<SV*> key, and returns the same C<SV*>.
1776 HeSVKEY_set(HE* he, SV* sv)
1780 Returns the value slot (type C<SV*>) stored in the hash entry.
1786 Clears a hash, making it empty.
1788 void hv_clear _((HV* tb));
1790 =item hv_delayfree_ent
1792 Releases a hash entry, such as while iterating though the hash, but
1793 delays actual freeing of key and value until the end of the current
1794 statement (or thereabouts) with C<sv_2mortal>. See C<hv_iternext>
1797 void hv_delayfree_ent _((HV* hv, HE* entry));
1801 Deletes a key/value pair in the hash. The value SV is removed from the hash
1802 and returned to the caller. The C<klen> is the length of the key. The
1803 C<flags> value will normally be zero; if set to G_DISCARD then NULL will be
1806 SV* hv_delete _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, I32 flags));
1810 Deletes a key/value pair in the hash. The value SV is removed from the hash
1811 and returned to the caller. The C<flags> value will normally be zero; if set
1812 to G_DISCARD then NULL will be returned. C<hash> can be a valid precomputed
1813 hash value, or 0 to ask for it to be computed.
1815 SV* hv_delete_ent _((HV* tb, SV* key, I32 flags, U32 hash));
1819 Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified hash key exists. The
1820 C<klen> is the length of the key.
1822 bool hv_exists _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen));
1826 Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified hash key exists. C<hash>
1827 can be a valid precomputed hash value, or 0 to ask for it to be computed.
1829 bool hv_exists_ent _((HV* tb, SV* key, U32 hash));
1833 Returns the SV which corresponds to the specified key in the hash. The
1834 C<klen> is the length of the key. If C<lval> is set then the fetch will be
1835 part of a store. Check that the return value is non-null before
1836 dereferencing it to a C<SV*>.
1838 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1839 information on how to use this function on tied hashes.
1841 SV** hv_fetch _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, I32 lval));
1845 Returns the hash entry which corresponds to the specified key in the hash.
1846 C<hash> must be a valid precomputed hash number for the given C<key>, or
1847 0 if you want the function to compute it. IF C<lval> is set then the
1848 fetch will be part of a store. Make sure the return value is non-null
1849 before accessing it. The return value when C<tb> is a tied hash
1850 is a pointer to a static location, so be sure to make a copy of the
1851 structure if you need to store it somewhere.
1853 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1854 information on how to use this function on tied hashes.
1856 HE* hv_fetch_ent _((HV* tb, SV* key, I32 lval, U32 hash));
1860 Releases a hash entry, such as while iterating though the hash. See
1861 C<hv_iternext> and C<hv_delayfree_ent>.
1863 void hv_free_ent _((HV* hv, HE* entry));
1867 Prepares a starting point to traverse a hash table.
1869 I32 hv_iterinit _((HV* tb));
1871 Note that hv_iterinit I<currently> returns the number of I<buckets> in
1872 the hash and I<not> the number of keys (as indicated in the Advanced
1873 Perl Programming book). This may change in future. Use the HvKEYS(hv)
1874 macro to find the number of keys in a hash.
1878 Returns the key from the current position of the hash iterator. See
1881 char* hv_iterkey _((HE* entry, I32* retlen));
1885 Returns the key as an C<SV*> from the current position of the hash
1886 iterator. The return value will always be a mortal copy of the
1887 key. Also see C<hv_iterinit>.
1889 SV* hv_iterkeysv _((HE* entry));
1893 Returns entries from a hash iterator. See C<hv_iterinit>.
1895 HE* hv_iternext _((HV* tb));
1899 Performs an C<hv_iternext>, C<hv_iterkey>, and C<hv_iterval> in one
1902 SV * hv_iternextsv _((HV* hv, char** key, I32* retlen));
1906 Returns the value from the current position of the hash iterator. See
1909 SV* hv_iterval _((HV* tb, HE* entry));
1913 Adds magic to a hash. See C<sv_magic>.
1915 void hv_magic _((HV* hv, GV* gv, int how));
1919 Returns the package name of a stash. See C<SvSTASH>, C<CvSTASH>.
1921 char *HvNAME (HV* stash)
1925 Stores an SV in a hash. The hash key is specified as C<key> and C<klen> is
1926 the length of the key. The C<hash> parameter is the precomputed hash
1927 value; if it is zero then Perl will compute it. The return value will be
1928 NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not need to be actually
1929 stored within the hash (as in the case of tied hashes). Otherwise it can
1930 be dereferenced to get the original C<SV*>. Note that the caller is
1931 responsible for suitably incrementing the reference count of C<val>
1932 before the call, and decrementing it if the function returned NULL.
1934 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1935 information on how to use this function on tied hashes.
1937 SV** hv_store _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, SV* val, U32 hash));
1941 Stores C<val> in a hash. The hash key is specified as C<key>. The C<hash>
1942 parameter is the precomputed hash value; if it is zero then Perl will
1943 compute it. The return value is the new hash entry so created. It will be
1944 NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not need to be actually
1945 stored within the hash (as in the case of tied hashes). Otherwise the
1946 contents of the return value can be accessed using the C<He???> macros
1947 described here. Note that the caller is responsible for suitably
1948 incrementing the reference count of C<val> before the call, and decrementing
1949 it if the function returned NULL.
1951 See L<Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays> for more
1952 information on how to use this function on tied hashes.
1954 HE* hv_store_ent _((HV* tb, SV* key, SV* val, U32 hash));
1960 void hv_undef _((HV* tb));
1964 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is an ascii alphanumeric
1967 int isALNUM (char c)
1971 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is an ascii alphabetic
1974 int isALPHA (char c)
1978 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is an ascii digit.
1980 int isDIGIT (char c)
1984 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is a lowercase character.
1986 int isLOWER (char c)
1990 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is whitespace.
1992 int isSPACE (char c)
1996 Returns a boolean indicating whether the C C<char> is an uppercase character.
1998 int isUPPER (char c)
2002 Variable which is setup by C<xsubpp> to indicate the number of items on the
2003 stack. See L<perlxs/"Variable-length Parameter Lists">.
2007 Variable which is setup by C<xsubpp> to indicate which of an XSUB's aliases
2008 was used to invoke it. See L<perlxs/"The ALIAS: Keyword">.
2012 Closing bracket on a callback. See C<ENTER> and L<perlcall>.
2018 Stack marker variable for the XSUB. See C<dMARK>.
2022 Clear something magical that the SV represents. See C<sv_magic>.
2024 int mg_clear _((SV* sv));
2028 Copies the magic from one SV to another. See C<sv_magic>.
2030 int mg_copy _((SV *, SV *, char *, STRLEN));
2034 Finds the magic pointer for type matching the SV. See C<sv_magic>.
2036 MAGIC* mg_find _((SV* sv, int type));
2040 Free any magic storage used by the SV. See C<sv_magic>.
2042 int mg_free _((SV* sv));
2046 Do magic after a value is retrieved from the SV. See C<sv_magic>.
2048 int mg_get _((SV* sv));
2052 Report on the SV's length. See C<sv_magic>.
2054 U32 mg_len _((SV* sv));
2058 Turns on the magical status of an SV. See C<sv_magic>.
2060 void mg_magical _((SV* sv));
2064 Do magic after a value is assigned to the SV. See C<sv_magic>.
2066 int mg_set _((SV* sv));
2070 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<memmove> function. The C<s> is the
2071 source, C<d> is the destination, C<n> is the number of items, and C<t> is
2072 the type. Can do overlapping moves. See also C<Copy>.
2074 (void) Move( s, d, n, t );
2078 A variable which may be used with C<SvPV> to tell Perl to calculate the
2083 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<malloc> function.
2085 void * New( x, void *ptr, int size, type )
2089 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<malloc> function, with cast.
2091 void * Newc( x, void *ptr, int size, type, cast )
2095 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<malloc> function. The allocated
2096 memory is zeroed with C<memzero>.
2098 void * Newz( x, void *ptr, int size, type )
2102 Creates a new AV. The reference count is set to 1.
2104 AV* newAV _((void));
2108 Creates a new HV. The reference count is set to 1.
2110 HV* newHV _((void));
2114 Creates an RV wrapper for an SV. The reference count for the original SV is
2117 SV* newRV_inc _((SV* ref));
2119 For historical reasons, "newRV" is a synonym for "newRV_inc".
2123 Creates an RV wrapper for an SV. The reference count for the original
2124 SV is B<not> incremented.
2126 SV* newRV_noinc _((SV* ref));
2130 Creates a new SV. The C<len> parameter indicates the number of bytes of
2131 preallocated string space the SV should have. The reference count for the
2132 new SV is set to 1. C<id> is an integer id between 0 and 1299 (used to
2135 SV* NEWSV _((int id, STRLEN len));
2139 Creates a new SV and copies an integer into it. The reference count for the
2142 SV* newSViv _((IV i));
2146 Creates a new SV and copies a double into it. The reference count for the
2149 SV* newSVnv _((NV i));
2153 Creates a new SV and copies a string into it. The reference count for the
2154 SV is set to 1. If C<len> is zero then Perl will compute the length.
2156 SV* newSVpv _((char* s, STRLEN len));
2160 Creates a new SV and copies a string into it. The reference count for the
2161 SV is set to 1. If C<len> is zero then Perl will create a zero length
2164 SV* newSVpvn _((char* s, STRLEN len));
2168 Creates a new SV for the RV, C<rv>, to point to. If C<rv> is not an RV then
2169 it will be upgraded to one. If C<classname> is non-null then the new SV will
2170 be blessed in the specified package. The new SV is returned and its
2171 reference count is 1.
2173 SV* newSVrv _((SV* rv, char* classname));
2177 Creates a new SV which is an exact duplicate of the original SV.
2179 SV* newSVsv _((SV* old));
2183 Used by C<xsubpp> to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs.
2187 Used by C<xsubpp> to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs. Adds Perl prototypes to
2196 Null character pointer.
2212 The original stack mark for the XSUB. See C<dORIGMARK>.
2216 Allocates a new Perl interpreter. See L<perlembed>.
2218 =item perl_call_argv
2220 Performs a callback to the specified Perl sub. See L<perlcall>.
2222 I32 perl_call_argv _((char* subname, I32 flags, char** argv));
2224 =item perl_call_method
2226 Performs a callback to the specified Perl method. The blessed object must
2227 be on the stack. See L<perlcall>.
2229 I32 perl_call_method _((char* methname, I32 flags));
2233 Performs a callback to the specified Perl sub. See L<perlcall>.
2235 I32 perl_call_pv _((char* subname, I32 flags));
2239 Performs a callback to the Perl sub whose name is in the SV. See
2242 I32 perl_call_sv _((SV* sv, I32 flags));
2244 =item perl_construct
2246 Initializes a new Perl interpreter. See L<perlembed>.
2250 Shuts down a Perl interpreter. See L<perlembed>.
2254 Tells Perl to C<eval> the string in the SV.
2256 I32 perl_eval_sv _((SV* sv, I32 flags));
2260 Tells Perl to C<eval> the given string and return an SV* result.
2262 SV* perl_eval_pv _((char* p, I32 croak_on_error));
2266 Releases a Perl interpreter. See L<perlembed>.
2270 Returns the AV of the specified Perl array. If C<create> is set and the
2271 Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If C<create> is not
2272 set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.
2274 AV* perl_get_av _((char* name, I32 create));
2278 Returns the CV of the specified Perl sub. If C<create> is set and the Perl
2279 variable does not exist then it will be created. If C<create> is not
2280 set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.
2282 CV* perl_get_cv _((char* name, I32 create));
2286 Returns the HV of the specified Perl hash. If C<create> is set and the Perl
2287 variable does not exist then it will be created. If C<create> is not
2288 set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.
2290 HV* perl_get_hv _((char* name, I32 create));
2294 Returns the SV of the specified Perl scalar. If C<create> is set and the
2295 Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If C<create> is not
2296 set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.
2298 SV* perl_get_sv _((char* name, I32 create));
2302 Tells a Perl interpreter to parse a Perl script. See L<perlembed>.
2304 =item perl_require_pv
2306 Tells Perl to C<require> a module.
2308 void perl_require_pv _((char* pv));
2312 Tells a Perl interpreter to run. See L<perlembed>.
2316 Pops an integer off the stack.
2322 Pops a long off the stack.
2328 Pops a string off the stack.
2334 Pops a double off the stack.
2340 Pops an SV off the stack.
2346 Opening bracket for arguments on a callback. See C<PUTBACK> and L<perlcall>.
2352 Push an integer onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element.
2353 Handles 'set' magic. See C<XPUSHi>.
2359 Push a double onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element.
2360 Handles 'set' magic. See C<XPUSHn>.
2366 Push a string onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element.
2367 The C<len> indicates the length of the string. Handles 'set' magic. See
2370 PUSHp(char *c, int len )
2374 Push an SV onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. Does
2375 not handle 'set' magic. See C<XPUSHs>.
2381 Closing bracket for XSUB arguments. This is usually handled by C<xsubpp>.
2382 See C<PUSHMARK> and L<perlcall> for other uses.
2388 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<realloc> function.
2390 void * Renew( void *ptr, int size, type )
2394 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<realloc> function, with cast.
2396 void * Renewc( void *ptr, int size, type, cast )
2400 Variable which is setup by C<xsubpp> to hold the return value for an XSUB.
2401 This is always the proper type for the XSUB.
2402 See L<perlxs/"The RETVAL Variable">.
2406 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<free> function.
2410 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<malloc> function.
2414 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<realloc> function.
2418 Copy a string to a safe spot. This does not use an SV.
2420 char* savepv _((char* sv));
2424 Copy a string to a safe spot. The C<len> indicates number of bytes to
2425 copy. This does not use an SV.
2427 char* savepvn _((char* sv, I32 len));
2431 Opening bracket for temporaries on a callback. See C<FREETMPS> and
2438 Stack pointer. This is usually handled by C<xsubpp>. See C<dSP> and
2443 Refetch the stack pointer. Used after a callback. See L<perlcall>.
2449 Used to access elements on the XSUB's stack.
2455 Test two strings to see if they are equal. Returns true or false.
2457 int strEQ( char *s1, char *s2 )
2461 Test two strings to see if the first, C<s1>, is greater than or equal to the
2462 second, C<s2>. Returns true or false.
2464 int strGE( char *s1, char *s2 )
2468 Test two strings to see if the first, C<s1>, is greater than the second,
2469 C<s2>. Returns true or false.
2471 int strGT( char *s1, char *s2 )
2475 Test two strings to see if the first, C<s1>, is less than or equal to the
2476 second, C<s2>. Returns true or false.
2478 int strLE( char *s1, char *s2 )
2482 Test two strings to see if the first, C<s1>, is less than the second,
2483 C<s2>. Returns true or false.
2485 int strLT( char *s1, char *s2 )
2489 Test two strings to see if they are different. Returns true or false.
2491 int strNE( char *s1, char *s2 )
2495 Test two strings to see if they are equal. The C<len> parameter indicates
2496 the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false.
2498 int strnEQ( char *s1, char *s2 )
2502 Test two strings to see if they are different. The C<len> parameter
2503 indicates the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false.
2505 int strnNE( char *s1, char *s2, int len )
2509 Marks an SV as mortal. The SV will be destroyed when the current context
2512 SV* sv_2mortal _((SV* sv));
2516 Blesses an SV into a specified package. The SV must be an RV. The package
2517 must be designated by its stash (see C<gv_stashpv()>). The reference count
2518 of the SV is unaffected.
2520 SV* sv_bless _((SV* sv, HV* stash));
2530 Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV.
2531 Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. See C<SvCatMagicPV>.
2533 void sv_catpv _((SV* sv, char* ptr));
2537 Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV. The
2538 C<len> indicates number of bytes to copy. Handles 'get' magic, but not
2539 'set' magic. See C<SvCatMagicPVN).
2541 void sv_catpvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
2545 Processes its arguments like C<sprintf> and appends the formatted output
2546 to an SV. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. C<SvSETMAGIC()> must
2547 typically be called after calling this function to handle 'set' magic.
2549 void sv_catpvf _((SV* sv, const char* pat, ...));
2553 Concatenates the string from SV C<ssv> onto the end of the string in SV
2554 C<dsv>. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. See C<SvCatMagicSV).
2556 void sv_catsv _((SV* dsv, SV* ssv));
2560 Compares the strings in two SVs. Returns -1, 0, or 1 indicating whether the
2561 string in C<sv1> is less than, equal to, or greater than the string in
2564 I32 sv_cmp _((SV* sv1, SV* sv2));
2568 Returns the length of the string which is in the SV. See C<SvLEN>.
2574 Set the length of the string which is in the SV. See C<SvCUR>.
2576 SvCUR_set (SV* sv, int val )
2580 Auto-decrement of the value in the SV.
2582 void sv_dec _((SV* sv));
2586 Returns a pointer to the last character in the string which is in the SV.
2587 See C<SvCUR>. Access the character as
2593 Returns a boolean indicating whether the strings in the two SVs are
2596 I32 sv_eq _((SV* sv1, SV* sv2));
2600 Invokes C<mg_get> on an SV if it has 'get' magic. This macro evaluates
2601 its argument more than once.
2603 void SvGETMAGIC( SV *sv )
2607 Expands the character buffer in the SV. Calls C<sv_grow> to perform the
2608 expansion if necessary. Returns a pointer to the character buffer.
2610 char * SvGROW( SV* sv, int len )
2614 Expands the character buffer in the SV. This will use C<sv_unref> and will
2615 upgrade the SV to C<SVt_PV>. Returns a pointer to the character buffer.
2620 Auto-increment of the value in the SV.
2622 void sv_inc _((SV* sv));
2626 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer.
2632 Unsets the IV status of an SV.
2638 Tells an SV that it is an integer.
2644 Tells an SV that it is an integer and disables all other OK bits.
2650 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer. Checks the
2651 B<private> setting. Use C<SvIOK>.
2657 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is blessed into the specified
2658 class. This does not know how to check for subtype, so it doesn't work in
2659 an inheritance relationship.
2661 int sv_isa _((SV* sv, char* name));
2665 Returns the integer which is in the SV.
2671 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is an RV pointing to a blessed
2672 object. If the SV is not an RV, or if the object is not blessed, then this
2675 int sv_isobject _((SV* sv));
2679 Returns the integer which is stored in the SV.
2685 Returns the size of the string buffer in the SV. See C<SvCUR>.
2691 Returns the length of the string in the SV. Use C<SvCUR>.
2693 STRLEN sv_len _((SV* sv));
2697 Adds magic to an SV.
2699 void sv_magic _((SV* sv, SV* obj, int how, char* name, I32 namlen));
2703 Creates a new SV which is a copy of the original SV. The new SV is marked
2706 SV* sv_mortalcopy _((SV* oldsv));
2710 Returns a boolean indicating whether the value is an SV.
2716 Creates a new SV which is mortal. The reference count of the SV is set to 1.
2718 SV* sv_newmortal _((void));
2722 This is the C<false> SV. See C<sv_yes>. Always refer to this as C<&sv_no>.
2726 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or
2733 Unsets the NV/IV status of an SV.
2739 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or
2740 double. Checks the B<private> setting. Use C<SvNIOK>.
2742 int SvNIOKp (SV* SV)
2746 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double.
2752 Unsets the NV status of an SV.
2758 Tells an SV that it is a double.
2764 Tells an SV that it is a double and disables all other OK bits.
2770 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double. Checks the
2771 B<private> setting. Use C<SvNOK>.
2777 Returns the double which is stored in the SV.
2779 double SvNV (SV* sv);
2783 Returns the double which is stored in the SV.
2785 double SvNVX (SV* sv);
2789 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string.
2795 Unsets the PV status of an SV.
2801 Tells an SV that it is a string.
2807 Tells an SV that it is a string and disables all other OK bits.
2813 Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string.
2814 Checks the B<private> setting. Use C<SvPOK>.
2820 Returns a pointer to the string in the SV, or a stringified form of the SV
2821 if the SV does not contain a string. If C<len> is C<na> then Perl will
2822 handle the length on its own. Handles 'get' magic.
2824 char * SvPV (SV* sv, int len )
2828 Returns a pointer to the string in the SV. The SV must contain a string.
2830 char * SvPVX (SV* sv)
2834 Returns the value of the object's reference count.
2836 int SvREFCNT (SV* sv);
2840 Decrements the reference count of the given SV.
2842 void SvREFCNT_dec (SV* sv)
2846 Increments the reference count of the given SV.
2848 void SvREFCNT_inc (SV* sv)
2852 Tests if the SV is an RV.
2858 Unsets the RV status of an SV.
2864 Tells an SV that it is an RV.
2870 Dereferences an RV to return the SV.
2876 Invokes C<mg_set> on an SV if it has 'set' magic. This macro evaluates
2877 its argument more than once.
2879 void SvSETMAGIC( SV *sv )
2883 Taints an SV if tainting is enabled
2889 Checks to see if an SV is tainted. Returns TRUE if it is, FALSE if not.
2895 Untaints an SV. Be I<very> careful with this routine, as it short-circuits
2896 some of Perl's fundamental security features. XS module authors should
2897 not use this function unless they fully understand all the implications
2898 of unconditionally untainting the value. Untainting should be done in
2899 the standard perl fashion, via a carefully crafted regexp, rather than
2900 directly untainting variables.
2902 SvTAINTED_off (SV* sv);
2906 Marks an SV as tainted.
2908 SvTAINTED_on (SV* sv);
2912 A macro that calls C<sv_setiv>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2913 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2915 void SvSetMagicIV (SV* sv, IV num)
2919 A macro that calls C<sv_setnv>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2920 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2922 void SvSetMagicNV (SV* sv, double num)
2926 A macro that calls C<sv_setpv>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2927 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2929 void SvSetMagicPV (SV* sv, char *ptr)
2931 =item SvSetMagicPVIV
2933 A macro that calls C<sv_setpviv>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2934 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2936 void SvSetMagicPVIV (SV* sv, IV num)
2940 A macro that calls C<sv_setpvn>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2941 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2943 void SvSetMagicPVN (SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len)
2947 Same as C<SvSetSV>, but also invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2948 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2950 void SvSetMagicSV (SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
2952 =item SvSetMagicSV_nosteal
2954 Same as C<SvSetSV_nosteal>, but also invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2955 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2957 void SvSetMagicSV_nosteal (SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
2961 A macro that calls C<sv_setuv>, and invokes 'set' magic on the SV.
2962 May evaluate arguments more than once.
2964 void SvSetMagicUV (SV* sv, UV num)
2968 Copies an integer into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic.
2969 See C<SvSetMagicIV>.
2971 void sv_setiv _((SV* sv, IV num));
2975 Copies a double into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic.
2976 See C<SvSetMagicNV>.
2978 void sv_setnv _((SV* sv, double num));
2982 Copies a string into an SV. The string must be null-terminated.
2983 Does not handle 'set' magic. See C<SvSetMagicPV>.
2985 void sv_setpv _((SV* sv, char* ptr));
2989 Copies an integer into the given SV, also updating its string value.
2990 Does not handle 'set' magic. See C<SvSetMagicPVIV>.
2992 void sv_setpviv _((SV* sv, IV num));
2996 Copies a string into an SV. The C<len> parameter indicates the number of
2997 bytes to be copied. Does not handle 'set' magic. See C<SvSetMagicPVN>.
2999 void sv_setpvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
3003 Processes its arguments like C<sprintf> and sets an SV to the formatted
3004 output. Does not handle 'set' magic. C<SvSETMAGIC()> must typically
3005 be called after calling this function to handle 'set' magic.
3007 void sv_setpvf _((SV* sv, const char* pat, ...));
3011 Copies an integer into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The C<rv>
3012 argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to
3013 the new SV. The C<classname> argument indicates the package for the
3014 blessing. Set C<classname> to C<Nullch> to avoid the blessing. The new SV
3015 will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.
3017 SV* sv_setref_iv _((SV *rv, char *classname, IV iv));
3021 Copies a double into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The C<rv>
3022 argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to
3023 the new SV. The C<classname> argument indicates the package for the
3024 blessing. Set C<classname> to C<Nullch> to avoid the blessing. The new SV
3025 will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.
3027 SV* sv_setref_nv _((SV *rv, char *classname, double nv));
3031 Copies a pointer into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The C<rv>
3032 argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to
3033 the new SV. If the C<pv> argument is NULL then C<sv_undef> will be placed
3034 into the SV. The C<classname> argument indicates the package for the
3035 blessing. Set C<classname> to C<Nullch> to avoid the blessing. The new SV
3036 will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.
3038 SV* sv_setref_pv _((SV *rv, char *classname, void* pv));
3040 Do not use with integral Perl types such as HV, AV, SV, CV, because those
3041 objects will become corrupted by the pointer copy process.
3043 Note that C<sv_setref_pvn> copies the string while this copies the pointer.
3047 Copies a string into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The length of the
3048 string must be specified with C<n>. The C<rv> argument will be upgraded to
3049 an RV. That RV will be modified to point to the new SV. The C<classname>
3050 argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set C<classname> to
3051 C<Nullch> to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have
3052 a reference count of 1.
3054 SV* sv_setref_pvn _((SV *rv, char *classname, char* pv, I32 n));
3056 Note that C<sv_setref_pv> copies the pointer while this copies the string.
3060 Calls C<sv_setsv> if dsv is not the same as ssv. May evaluate arguments
3063 void SvSetSV (SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
3065 =item SvSetSV_nosteal
3067 Calls a non-destructive version of C<sv_setsv> if dsv is not the same as ssv.
3068 May evaluate arguments more than once.
3070 void SvSetSV_nosteal (SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
3074 Copies the contents of the source SV C<ssv> into the destination SV C<dsv>.
3075 The source SV may be destroyed if it is mortal. Does not handle 'set' magic.
3076 See the macro forms C<SvSetSV>, C<SvSetSV_nosteal>, C<SvSetMagicSV> and
3077 C<SvSetMagicSV_nosteal>.
3079 void sv_setsv _((SV* dsv, SV* ssv));
3083 Copies an unsigned integer into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic.
3084 See C<SvSetMagicUV>.
3086 void sv_setuv _((SV* sv, UV num));
3090 Returns the stash of the SV.
3092 HV * SvSTASH (SV* sv)
3096 Integer type flag for scalars. See C<svtype>.
3100 Pointer type flag for scalars. See C<svtype>.
3104 Type flag for arrays. See C<svtype>.
3108 Type flag for code refs. See C<svtype>.
3112 Type flag for hashes. See C<svtype>.
3116 Type flag for blessed scalars. See C<svtype>.
3120 Double type flag for scalars. See C<svtype>.
3124 Returns a boolean indicating whether Perl would evaluate the SV as true or
3125 false, defined or undefined. Does not handle 'get' magic.
3131 Returns the type of the SV. See C<svtype>.
3133 svtype SvTYPE (SV* sv)
3137 An enum of flags for Perl types. These are found in the file B<sv.h> in the
3138 C<svtype> enum. Test these flags with the C<SvTYPE> macro.
3142 Used to upgrade an SV to a more complex form. Uses C<sv_upgrade> to perform
3143 the upgrade if necessary. See C<svtype>.
3145 bool SvUPGRADE _((SV* sv, svtype mt));
3149 Upgrade an SV to a more complex form. Use C<SvUPGRADE>. See C<svtype>.
3153 This is the C<undef> SV. Always refer to this as C<&sv_undef>.
3157 Unsets the RV status of the SV, and decrements the reference count of
3158 whatever was being referenced by the RV. This can almost be thought of
3159 as a reversal of C<newSVrv>. See C<SvROK_off>.
3161 void sv_unref _((SV* sv));
3167 Tells an SV to use C<ptr> to find its string value. Normally the string is
3168 stored inside the SV but sv_usepvn allows the SV to use an outside string.
3169 The C<ptr> should point to memory that was allocated by C<malloc>. The
3170 string length, C<len>, must be supplied. This function will realloc the
3171 memory pointed to by C<ptr>, so that pointer should not be freed or used by
3172 the programmer after giving it to sv_usepvn. Does not handle 'set' magic.
3173 See C<SvUseMagicPVN>.
3175 void sv_usepvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
3179 This is the C<true> SV. See C<sv_no>. Always refer to this as C<&sv_yes>.
3183 Variable which is setup by C<xsubpp> to designate the object in a C++ XSUB.
3184 This is always the proper type for the C++ object. See C<CLASS> and
3185 L<perlxs/"Using XS With C++">.
3189 Converts the specified character to lowercase.
3191 int toLOWER (char c)
3195 Converts the specified character to uppercase.
3197 int toUPPER (char c)
3201 This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's C<warn> function. Use this
3202 function the same way you use the C C<printf> function. See C<croak()>.
3206 Push an integer onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Handles
3207 'set' magic. See C<PUSHi>.
3213 Push a double onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Handles 'set'
3214 magic. See C<PUSHn>.
3220 Push a string onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. The C<len>
3221 indicates the length of the string. Handles 'set' magic. See C<PUSHp>.
3223 XPUSHp(char *c, int len)
3227 Push an SV onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Does not
3228 handle 'set' magic. See C<PUSHs>.
3234 Macro to declare an XSUB and its C parameter list. This is handled by
3239 Return from XSUB, indicating number of items on the stack. This is usually
3240 handled by C<xsubpp>.
3244 =item XSRETURN_EMPTY
3246 Return an empty list from an XSUB immediately.
3252 Return an integer from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mIV>.
3258 Return C<&sv_no> from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mNO>.
3264 Return an double from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mNV>.
3270 Return a copy of a string from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mPV>.
3272 XSRETURN_PV(char *v);
3274 =item XSRETURN_UNDEF
3276 Return C<&sv_undef> from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mUNDEF>.
3282 Return C<&sv_yes> from an XSUB immediately. Uses C<XST_mYES>.
3288 Place an integer into the specified position C<i> on the stack. The value is
3289 stored in a new mortal SV.
3291 XST_mIV( int i, IV v );
3295 Place a double into the specified position C<i> on the stack. The value is
3296 stored in a new mortal SV.
3298 XST_mNV( int i, NV v );
3302 Place C<&sv_no> into the specified position C<i> on the stack.
3308 Place a copy of a string into the specified position C<i> on the stack. The
3309 value is stored in a new mortal SV.
3311 XST_mPV( int i, char *v );
3315 Place C<&sv_undef> into the specified position C<i> on the stack.
3317 XST_mUNDEF( int i );
3321 Place C<&sv_yes> into the specified position C<i> on the stack.
3327 The version identifier for an XS module. This is usually handled
3328 automatically by C<ExtUtils::MakeMaker>. See C<XS_VERSION_BOOTCHECK>.
3330 =item XS_VERSION_BOOTCHECK
3332 Macro to verify that a PM module's $VERSION variable matches the XS module's
3333 C<XS_VERSION> variable. This is usually handled automatically by
3334 C<xsubpp>. See L<perlxs/"The VERSIONCHECK: Keyword">.
3338 The XSUB-writer's interface to the C C<memzero> function. The C<d> is the
3339 destination, C<n> is the number of items, and C<t> is the type.
3341 (void) Zero( d, n, t );
3347 Jeff Okamoto <F<okamoto@corp.hp.com>>
3349 With lots of help and suggestions from Dean Roehrich, Malcolm Beattie,
3350 Andreas Koenig, Paul Hudson, Ilya Zakharevich, Paul Marquess, Neil
3351 Bowers, Matthew Green, Tim Bunce, Spider Boardman, Ulrich Pfeifer,
3352 Stephen McCamant, and Gurusamy Sarathy.
3354 API Listing by Dean Roehrich <F<roehrich@cray.com>>.
3358 Version 31.8: 1997/5/17